What other kinds of birds - especially water fowl - co-exist peacefully with chickens?

[Sessie]

What other kinds of birds - especially water fowl - peacefully co-exist with chickens? Either same coop or separate coop(s) - but same farm and pond??

I am moving unexpectedly. My landlord has sold this house. I think I've already got a new place to move to (I'll know by next week), and it's a farm! Not just a house with a chicken coop, but 4 acres, cottage house, nice barn, large chicken coop, medium-sized pond, one-car garage... with plenty of space for vegetable and fruit gardening, garage tent(s) for another couple of vehicles, several large and medium pre-fab sheds. SO... now I need to know what kinds of birds can I manage to have along with my chickens, given the pond?


* Thank you to the mod who moved this topic here for me. Many thanks.

 

[tmarsh83]

You aren't going to want your ducks and chickens sharing a coop. Ducks are messy, make mud, etc. They get along fine in the same area but not the same coop.

Ducks, turkeys, geese, guineas, they all co-exist pretty well.

 

[Cal Lennie]

I agree with tmarsh83. No Ducks in the same run. I had a Pekin in with my mixed 11 hen flock and it wasn't good. It Bullied my Red sex Link really bad and was MESSY! They waste way more water than they drink. I was filling my 2x 4 gallon waterers every day up from every 3-4 days without the duck in there.

 

[tmarsh83]

You also have to consider the sex abuse possibility. Drakes are notoriously aggressive sexually and because of the difference in anatomy can cause serious harm to hens if they can get ahold of them.

 

[Vickie 51]

My aunt's farm always had chickens and ducks but, as has been mentioned, not in the same house. The chickens had their coop and the ducks had a duck house across the yard from them. They did munch and graze in the same yard but at night they separated.

 

[Sessie]

OK. I was NOT planning on drakes or on breeding the ducks. Just having a few for eggs.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I've kept chickens and ducks together. While it was a nightmare keeping them in the same brooder (never, ever again will I brood any ducklings!), when they moved to the coop it wasn't so bad. I don't keep any water in the coop, so the ducks had to travel back and forth between the feeder (inside) and the drinkers and their small pond (outside). The ducks slept in and shared the same building though. I couldn't stand cleaning up after them. Even with a larger water source available, they turned the drinkers I have to fill up into mud everyday or emptied them completely.

Good luck with the move!